So Many People Are Lament That 'peeta Will Never Be The Same Again' After His Hijacking.

so many people are lament that 'peeta will never be the same again' after his hijacking.

but i feel like that is only because katniss views peeta as this perfect, unchanged figure throughout the first two books.

the type of person who could never be changed by the games.

but readers, just like katniss, forget that peeta couldn't fit into his old roles after the games. because he had changed. just like katniss.

he was no longer a star on the wrestling team. he was no longer the baker's son who would greet everyone in the morning from the bakery's steps.

instead, he was a boy who limped into town to see his family once a week for dinner. a boy whose eyes adorn bags because he can't get a good night's sleep. a boy whose biggest fear is losing his lover. so much he is ready to die for her.

and so, the whole point of peeta's character in mockingjay is that he is not a new, 'mutt' version of himself. or even a post-mutt version. he simply is peeta, a teenager who has gone through hell and back. and forgive him if that changed him a little.

and yet, everyone is still convinced by katniss's "he's changed" instead of focusing on johanna *and suzanne's* point that "everyone has" (mj, 205).